Despite slow start, Georgia football defeats Austin Peay
ATHENS — Georgia overcame a slow start and waited out a nearly two-hour weather delay before putting away Austin Peay 28-6 on Saturday.
Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart will have plenty to review before his No. 4 Bulldogs (2-0) travel to play at No. 22 Tennessee (2-0) next weekend.
“It’s a different demeanor when you go on the road in the SEC, especially when you have not been on the road,” Smart said. “Study the stats on that.”
Smart and his staff will be studying the Volunteers offense after they ran away from their FCS-level opponent Saturday, beating East Tennessee State 72-17.
Georgia’s offense, meanwhile, had its struggles against the FCS school it faced from Clarksville, Tennessee.
The Bulldogs extended their school-record home win streak to 32 games with the win over the Governors (1-1), but they did so in sloppy fashion, with Sanford Stadium less than half-full after the lengthy lightning delay that took place starting at halftime.
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton was 26-of-34 passing for 227 yards and carried five times for 13 yards, but the team’s short-yardage struggles continued, and UGA failed to produce a play longer than 23 yards.
This performance comes after only one Georgia offensive play went for more than 25 yards in the Bulldogs’ opening-week 45-7 win over Marshall the previous Saturday.
“We’ve got to find ways to be explosive, you’ve got to be able to throw the ball downfield and take shots,” Smart said. “That’s probably the toughest thing I’ve been most disappointed in.”
Austin Peay, which recorded its first win over an FBS team since 1987 with a win at Middle Tennessee last week, was within striking distance of Georgia entering the fourth quarter.
The Govs, quarterbacked by Mississippi State transfer Chris Parson (16-of-23 passing, 151 yards, one interception), were at the Georgia 2-yard line down 21-6 as the final stanza began.
That’s when the Bulldogs’ defense flexed its muscle, holding Austin Peay out of the end zone on consecutive plays.
Georgia’s Joseph Jonah-Ajonye and Raylen Wilson made stops on third- and fourth-down plays to force a change of possession.
“We’re not going to let anybody in our end zone for free,” Smart said. “The best defenses I’ve ever been around will not allow you to run the ball in.”
Stockton responded, engineering a 17-play, 99-yard scoring drive that Nate Frazier capped with a 1-yard touchdown run for the final score in the game.
Frazier was the leading rusher with 69 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, but the sophomore starting tailback also fumbled on the game-opening drive and was stopped at the Austin Peay 1-yard line on a Red Zone possession that’s sure to be the topic of much discussion this week.
The Bulldogs, a 46.5-point favorite, held a 14-3 lead and were driving for more just before the half when their offensive goal-line debacle unfolded.
Frazier was stopped on first-and-goal from the 1 with 33 seconds left in the half before Stockton failed to get the ball into the end zone on three called pass plays, the third an incompletion that stopped the clock with four seconds left.
Georgia’s final play of the fruitless drive was foiled when an Austin Peay defender knifed through the line and tripped tailback Chauncey Bowens at the 2-yard line as time ran out on the first half.
Compounding the Bulldogs’ frustration, UGA freshman tight end Ethan Barbour sustained a leg injury on the final play of the first half and was carted off the field.
Receiver Colbie Young was Georgia’s leading pass catcher in the game, finishing with seven receptions for 76 yards, while tailback Cash Jones finished with three catches for 32 yards.
Nine UGA players caught passes, but Stockton didn’t throw any passes in the direction of UGA’s tight ends.
Georgia has won eight consecutive in its series with Tennessee entering the teams’ 3:30 p.m. game Saturday.
It’s a rivalry game that figures to draw plenty of attention as it features two of the SEC’s three College Football Playoff teams from last season.
“We had (a first SEC road game) a couple of years ago against Auburn, it’s always an adventure,” Smart said, referring to a 27-20 come-from-behind win that featured departed All-American Brock Bowers in a starring role.
“We’ve been preparing for that, knowing that all along it’s going to be different when you go up there,” Smart said. “You’ve got to be prepared for it, and you’ve got to have confidence in your plan, and you’ve got to go execute it.”
About the Author
Mike is in his eighth season covering SEC and Georgia athletics for AJC-DawgNation and has 30 years of collegiate sports multimedia experience, 25 of them in the SEC including beat writer stops at Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee and now Georgia. Mike was named the National FWAA Beat Writer of the Year in January, 2018.
